Any investors who are searching for Large Cap Growth funds should take a look at Vanguard Growth Index Institutional (VIGIX Quick QuoteVIGIX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

VIGIX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Vanguard Group is responsible for VIGIX, and the company is based out of Malvern, PA. The Vanguard Growth Index Institutional made its debut in May of 1998 and VIGIX has managed to accumulate roughly $36.54 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gerard O'Reilly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2000.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.36%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.48%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Over the past three years, VIGIX's standard deviation comes in at 21.61%, compared to the category average of 16.52%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.49% compared to the category average of 17.04%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.12, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 1.69, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VIGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.04% compared to the category average of 0.94%. VIGIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $1

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare VIGIX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.